WEBVTT - 041523 Jevin Hodge on the Importance of Local Elections (Part 1) 0:00:00.560 --> 0:00:03.320 Welcome to another episode of Civic Cipher. I am your host, 0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:04.280 Ramsey's job. 0:00:04.360 --> 0:00:08.280 He is Rams's job. I am q Ward. This is 0:00:08.360 --> 0:00:12.720 not the Quiet Storm. I'm just trying to get my 0:00:12.840 --> 0:00:16.520 voice back. You are tuned in to Civic Cite. 0:00:16.440 --> 0:00:19.840 Yes, indeed, stick around. We have an excellent show lined 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:22.000 up for you today. We're going to talk about local 0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:25.680 elections and why they are important and what can go 0:00:25.880 --> 0:00:30.080 wrong if you choose not to participate or if you 0:00:30.200 --> 0:00:32.000 choose to ignore it. And you know, the best part 0:00:32.000 --> 0:00:35.199 about today's episode is we have an incredible gentleman with 0:00:35.280 --> 0:00:37.760 us today, a very special guest and a dear friend 0:00:37.760 --> 0:00:41.680 of mine and a friend of the show, mister Jevin Hodge, 0:00:41.680 --> 0:00:45.520 who most recently was the Democratic nominee in Arizona's first 0:00:45.520 --> 0:00:49.360 district that's Scott Still for those that know, and his 0:00:49.520 --> 0:00:51.760 race of all the four hundred and thirty five seats 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:55.800 was the sixth closest, decided ten days after the election, 0:00:56.080 --> 0:00:59.160 and decided by less than one percent of the vote. 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:03.280 And I'm confident that list goes on. So please say 0:01:03.320 --> 0:01:05.240 hello to our listeners and let them know a little 0:01:05.240 --> 0:01:05.920 bit more about. 0:01:05.840 --> 0:01:07.120 Well, the first thing I have to say is thank 0:01:07.160 --> 0:01:08.960 you for having me, thanks for being here, and thanks 0:01:08.959 --> 0:01:11.800 to all the folks you know tuning in and this 0:01:11.880 --> 0:01:13.720 is this is about to be a great show. I'm 0:01:13.760 --> 0:01:16.840 really looking forward to. Thank you for the introduction and 0:01:17.160 --> 0:01:19.280 the reason. One of the things I'm most excited for 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:21.800 because I've been involved in politics and government for a 0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:24.080 while here. When out I was elected at twenty two 0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:26.440 years old to lead the Democratic Party in the state 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:28.880 of Arizona. I was the youngest statewide black official in 0:01:28.880 --> 0:01:31.240 the country. And one of my jobs is making sure 0:01:31.600 --> 0:01:33.959 we get folks elected, and we get and we have 0:01:34.680 --> 0:01:38.600 conversations around civic engagement, and we have run for local office. 0:01:38.600 --> 0:01:40.959 I've run for the Meericopa County Board of Supervisors in 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:43.160 one of the closest races in Arizona history, and then 0:01:43.240 --> 0:01:46.440 most recently, for the United States Congress. So I'm excited 0:01:46.480 --> 0:01:49.160 to talk about the importance of being involved and being engaged, 0:01:49.200 --> 0:01:51.440 but more importantly, the power of your voice. 0:01:51.680 --> 0:01:53.640 Right well, I can't wait to get to all of 0:01:53.680 --> 0:01:58.040 that and so much more. Like I said, great show 0:01:58.080 --> 0:02:00.440 lined up for you today. But first and form most 0:02:01.600 --> 0:02:03.720 like we always do at this time, it is time 0:02:04.200 --> 0:02:09.400 for some ebony excellence. Q. So we shall so. Today's 0:02:09.400 --> 0:02:12.480 EBNY Excellence is sponsored by Hip Hop Weekly Media and 0:02:12.600 --> 0:02:16.600 I will be sharing from binnews dot com. Shout out 0:02:16.639 --> 0:02:19.639 to the Black Information Network one time if you don't want. 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:22.959 A Georgia high school student has earned over a million 0:02:23.000 --> 0:02:27.000 dollars in scholarships from dozens of schools across the country. Quote, 0:02:27.040 --> 0:02:31.280 I'm so blessed to have this opportunity, seventeen year old 0:02:31.400 --> 0:02:34.440 Regis Harris said or Atlanta News First. He goes on 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:36.480 to say there were several schools at the top of 0:02:36.520 --> 0:02:39.799 my list. Parris, a senior at Chapel Hill High and Douglasville, 0:02:39.880 --> 0:02:42.320 was accepted to over forty colleges that are offering the 0:02:42.320 --> 0:02:44.760 total of one point six million dollars in scholarships. Some 0:02:44.800 --> 0:02:48.000 of the schools include the University of Georgia and USC. 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:52.000 He says, there was a lot of sacrifices. There were 0:02:52.000 --> 0:02:54.520 a lot of nights I stayed up studying all night long. 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:57.200 The straight A student is a member of the band, 0:02:57.720 --> 0:03:00.840 chess club, varsity track team, and National Honor Society. He 0:03:00.840 --> 0:03:04.320 also works part time and sings in the church choir. 0:03:06.120 --> 0:03:09.240 Harris said he sees community service just as just as 0:03:09.240 --> 0:03:11.960 important as his academics. He goes on to say, the 0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:13.960 hardest part for me was that I balanced staying on 0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:16.120 top of work, but also that I maintained being a 0:03:16.120 --> 0:03:19.240 well rounded person. He was born in the heart condition 0:03:21.600 --> 0:03:24.840 and his parents say their son has been a fighter 0:03:24.840 --> 0:03:28.120 all of his life. Quote. The doctors told me he 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:32.880 would be developmentally delayed, his mother, Kia Harris said, quote 0:03:32.919 --> 0:03:36.040 they even stated that he might have to have heart surgery. Again, 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:39.840 he is our miracle. But Harris has been able to 0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:42.680 defy the odds and looks forward to the next chapter 0:03:42.680 --> 0:03:45.200 in his life. Quote. I'm looking forward to being able 0:03:45.200 --> 0:03:48.160 to adapt, to expand my mind, my learning, and I 0:03:48.360 --> 0:03:51.800 can't wait, he said Harris Frans, who attend North Carolina 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:53.800 A and T where he'll study biology and hopes of 0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:58.320 becoming a psychiatrist. So shout out to Regis Harris. You 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:06.440 are indeed ebony excellence. Now but local Okay, we've talked 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:11.920 about this on the show before, but today we have 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:17.000 an expert in the building, a political commentator in Jevin Hodge, 0:04:17.400 --> 0:04:19.760 and someone who can help educate us and you at 0:04:19.760 --> 0:04:22.720 the same time in terms of why these things are 0:04:22.720 --> 0:04:26.320 so important. So what we'll do is we'll talk about 0:04:26.360 --> 0:04:29.240 some of the things that have happened recently, and what 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:32.159 I'd like to do is get your reaction and just 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:33.400 kind of the wise, let's do it. 0:04:33.480 --> 0:04:33.640 Yeah. 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:38.320 Yeah, So, the one thing that's been making I guess 0:04:38.360 --> 0:04:41.880 the most news in this space in the past week 0:04:43.200 --> 0:04:47.400 a couple of weeks, i should say, is Tennessee. So 0:04:47.520 --> 0:04:52.800 the Tennessee House expelled two Democratic black lawmakers after falling 0:04:52.880 --> 0:04:59.200 short of outs ousting another that we're always ties me up. 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:04.320 So Tennessee's Republican controlled House of Representatives voted to expel 0:05:04.839 --> 0:05:07.839 representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson a week after they 0:05:07.920 --> 0:05:11.279 let a gun reform protest on the House floor. Don't worry, 0:05:11.279 --> 0:05:13.560 the story has a happy ending. But I think that 0:05:13.640 --> 0:05:18.440 this example, and we'll get to the others, shows exactly 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:23.479 how much power there is in local governments. So talk 0:05:23.520 --> 0:05:27.119 to us about maybe what happened here and how folks 0:05:27.200 --> 0:05:29.640 participating in the election process can help shape these. 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:32.880 Absolutely absolutely, And I want to start by highlighting a 0:05:32.920 --> 0:05:35.200 theme that we're going to keep coming back to today 0:05:35.240 --> 0:05:37.960 on the show, and is that your vote matters and 0:05:38.000 --> 0:05:43.280 your voice matters, and what folks often forget is how 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:46.520 powerful their vote and their voice really truly are, and 0:05:46.560 --> 0:05:49.120 it's our jobs to remind them and remind them the 0:05:49.160 --> 0:05:51.960 power of their participation in their democracy, the power of 0:05:52.000 --> 0:05:55.720 participating in government, the power of utilizing their vote at 0:05:55.720 --> 0:05:58.240 the ballot box and utilizing their voice, whether it's that 0:05:58.320 --> 0:06:01.440 vote at the ballot box or a demonstration or whatever 0:06:01.480 --> 0:06:01.960 that may be. 0:06:02.400 --> 0:06:04.240 But this situation here. 0:06:04.200 --> 0:06:08.320 Is truly unique because there were three lawmakers that were 0:06:08.400 --> 0:06:11.680 voted to be expelled, two black piles and another that 0:06:11.839 --> 0:06:15.200 was not a black individual. But the only two lawmakers 0:06:15.200 --> 0:06:16.920 that had the votes to be expelled were the two 0:06:16.920 --> 0:06:19.839 black individuals. So there's a there's a racial component that 0:06:19.839 --> 0:06:23.279 competes with that is involved in this. But the reason 0:06:23.360 --> 0:06:27.479 why they were were up for the explosion was because 0:06:27.520 --> 0:06:32.719 they were utilizing their voice and protected under the First Amendment, 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:36.120 right is your freedom of speech. They weren't doing anything unlawful, 0:06:36.320 --> 0:06:40.159 they weren't doing anything to infringe upon the freedoms or 0:06:40.200 --> 0:06:45.240 the safety of anyone else, but simply protesting a significant 0:06:45.240 --> 0:06:47.880 issue that we have here in this country around gun 0:06:47.960 --> 0:06:51.880 violence and the future of gun rights and all of that. 0:06:52.040 --> 0:06:55.640 And so these individuals were and what they were doing 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:59.480 is that they were protesting they were utilizing their voice 0:07:00.360 --> 0:07:02.960 in the space in which they could garner the attention 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:05.400 right on the floor of the House of Representative Where's 0:07:05.440 --> 0:07:08.839 going to matter exactly? And so let's go back now 0:07:08.880 --> 0:07:12.040 to the most important thing. How your vote in your 0:07:12.120 --> 0:07:16.440 voice matters. Okay, when you don't participate in an election, 0:07:18.400 --> 0:07:21.080 people get elected. That may not do the best thing 0:07:21.120 --> 0:07:26.000 by the individual, right, And you know it's not it's 0:07:26.080 --> 0:07:30.240 not one side or another that basically decides an election. 0:07:30.680 --> 0:07:33.480 It really comes down to the folks that are are apathetic. 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:36.880 It's it's the apathy that decides an election. I mean, 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:41.680 we are the most advanced nation in the world where 0:07:41.960 --> 0:07:45.600 in elect a great election, right, we see sixty five 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:48.880 seventy percent participation, I mean, and that's just outstanding. 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:50.840 Yeah, that'd be an astronomical. 0:07:50.280 --> 0:07:51.400 Test, that's exactly right. 0:07:51.480 --> 0:07:54.120 So you're telling me, you're telling me that at the 0:07:54.200 --> 0:07:56.640 end of the day, if only seventy percent of the 0:07:56.640 --> 0:08:00.480 people participate, right, that's great. I you know, and don't 0:08:00.480 --> 0:08:03.040 get me wrong, I understand a C is still passing grade. 0:08:03.600 --> 0:08:07.040 But when you live in a country that the first 0:08:07.120 --> 0:08:10.440 Amendment right is the value of your voice, the value 0:08:10.640 --> 0:08:13.960 of the freedom of your speech, and you're not utilizing that. 0:08:13.960 --> 0:08:16.400 That means that our system is flipped on its head 0:08:16.440 --> 0:08:20.240 at its core. And so in situations like this happens 0:08:20.640 --> 0:08:24.160 because you have people in communities that aren't utilizing their votes, 0:08:24.480 --> 0:08:27.800 and you have individuals that are getting elected because of apathy. 0:08:27.880 --> 0:08:30.880 You get individuals that are getting elected in districts right, 0:08:30.920 --> 0:08:32.880 whether it's at the state level in this case, or 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:37.000 at city levels and the municipal level, because of the 0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:40.240 lack of participation, and a lot of the times, right, 0:08:40.360 --> 0:08:41.640 A lot of the times, and this is the one 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:45.840 that blows my mind. These elections are decided by small 0:08:45.840 --> 0:08:46.840 amounts of votes. 0:08:47.720 --> 0:08:52.880 I was actually gonna suggest that I remember seeing something 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:56.000 on Netflix recently and this kind of put the thought 0:08:56.000 --> 0:09:00.880 in my head. What was suggested in this documentary I 0:09:00.960 --> 0:09:03.640 forget the name of it, but what was suggested was 0:09:03.679 --> 0:09:07.839 that because of how our political system is set up, 0:09:08.920 --> 0:09:14.680 a vote from an individual in California is worth approximately 0:09:14.840 --> 0:09:18.600 half in terms of its value to the overall election 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:23.360 process than a vote from a white landowner male who 0:09:23.440 --> 0:09:27.760 lives in Wisconsin. And that got me to thinking, if 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:32.120 I don't vote, if I don't engage, which historically my 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:35.640 understanding is that those of us of a more liberal 0:09:36.679 --> 0:09:42.360 persuasion tend to vote less, and those with more conservative 0:09:42.400 --> 0:09:45.360 values are very much engaged at every level of the 0:09:45.360 --> 0:09:49.760 political process. So if I, being a liberal minded individual, 0:09:49.880 --> 0:09:54.960 don't vote, that ensures that the vote of those who 0:09:55.480 --> 0:09:58.080 perhaps want to see the country revert back to an 0:09:58.280 --> 0:10:02.400 earlier time state whatever, or it actually increases the weight 0:10:02.520 --> 0:10:04.880 of their vote. If I don't engage in the political process, 0:10:04.960 --> 0:10:08.360 is that that that is a very very good way 0:10:08.480 --> 0:10:11.760 of looking at ok. Right, And and I want to 0:10:11.800 --> 0:10:14.000 start by saying this, like, I have my views, I 0:10:14.040 --> 0:10:17.120 have my ideological standing and what I believe, and I'm 0:10:17.120 --> 0:10:18.760 a proud Democrat. I don't run from it. 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:21.840 But as someone who has vied for elected office, my 0:10:22.000 --> 0:10:24.840 job is not to be an ambassador of a certain 0:10:25.559 --> 0:10:28.400 interests or a certain ideological stance, but to be a 0:10:28.440 --> 0:10:32.600 representative of one hundred percent of population. And that's what's missing, right, 0:10:32.720 --> 0:10:36.439 because of exactly what you just highlighted. If we have 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:39.720 one for one participation, then that means that you know, 0:10:39.760 --> 0:10:42.800 the elected official is forced to limits into both people. 0:10:43.360 --> 0:10:46.200 But for every one vote, you got two on the 0:10:46.240 --> 0:10:48.600 other side. And that could be Democrat or Republican. But 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:51.040 in this case, right, it's you know, for every one 0:10:51.120 --> 0:10:54.960 liberal that doesn't vote right, another you know conservative does 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:58.600 vote right. That's one for two, which means that the 0:10:58.720 --> 0:11:02.600 elected official that is elected only has to cater to 0:11:02.760 --> 0:11:04.319 one ideological. 0:11:03.679 --> 0:11:06.520 To the voter is exactly the population the voters that 0:11:06.559 --> 0:11:09.400 are participating, right, And you know exactly I just I 0:11:09.440 --> 0:11:11.240 just want to make sure we're clear about that, right, 0:11:11.280 --> 0:11:14.040 because everybody, you know, as long as you're registered your voter, right, 0:11:14.040 --> 0:11:15.640 But if you're not participating. 0:11:15.120 --> 0:11:17.400 Well, yeah, you hope that they got to pay attention 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:18.160 to the people who are. 0:11:18.280 --> 0:11:22.360 That's exactly right, That's exactly right. That's exactly right. And 0:11:22.440 --> 0:11:25.679 that's the reason why our system is flawed. Right, Our 0:11:25.720 --> 0:11:29.760 system is flawed because we you have individuals that are 0:11:29.800 --> 0:11:34.720 working every single day to destroy what we all collectively 0:11:34.720 --> 0:11:38.120 have worked so hard to protect and to preserve. Right, 0:11:38.200 --> 0:11:41.600 And as long as voting is difficult, there's no reason 0:11:41.679 --> 0:11:44.800 why we don't have automatic voter registration nation. Why, there's 0:11:44.800 --> 0:11:48.160 no reason why you know, we're not automatically registering eighteen 0:11:48.240 --> 0:11:50.439 year olds in their Civics class or history class while 0:11:50.480 --> 0:11:54.000 they're in high school. Right. But but but that's by design, right, 0:11:54.040 --> 0:11:56.840 because as long as is certain folks are making it 0:11:56.880 --> 0:11:59.000 harder for people to vote. That means that they're going 0:11:59.040 --> 0:12:01.320 to be able to make atin in office. That means 0:12:01.360 --> 0:12:03.480 that they're going to be able to continue to do 0:12:03.679 --> 0:12:07.720 nonsense things like what happened in Tennessee. Right, and again, 0:12:08.160 --> 0:12:10.600 let's go back to the beginning. Your vote matters, and 0:12:10.640 --> 0:12:12.840 your voice matters. You may not always get what you 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:16.280 strive for, but your vote matters, and your voice matters. 0:12:16.440 --> 0:12:17.199 I appreciate it. 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:19.720 Before we move on, how do we get people to 0:12:19.800 --> 0:12:21.040 believe what you just said? 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:21.640 Right? 0:12:21.679 --> 0:12:25.000 Because the disenfranchisement of the voter sets the table for 0:12:25.040 --> 0:12:27.440 the outcome that you guys just talked about, where I 0:12:27.480 --> 0:12:31.600 only have to hater my messaging to the people who 0:12:31.640 --> 0:12:34.320 are going to actually turn out. I know these people 0:12:34.360 --> 0:12:38.040 aren't going to turn out because I and my colleagues 0:12:38.080 --> 0:12:39.880 have shown them that their voice does not matter. 0:12:41.240 --> 0:12:42.640 Even those that come out and vote. 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:46.240 I've shown them now from multiple election cycles, your voice 0:12:46.280 --> 0:12:49.240 really doesn't matter. So as that number starts to dwindle 0:12:49.280 --> 0:12:52.800 and people get less and less motivated to even show up, then, 0:12:52.840 --> 0:12:55.560 of course, why would I have any messaging or any 0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:59.280 policy promises to these people who I know based on 0:12:59.400 --> 0:13:02.440 my behavior, you're in those like me, I've gotten to 0:13:02.480 --> 0:13:04.840 a point where they are apathetic, where they do not 0:13:04.920 --> 0:13:07.280 feel like their voice matters, and we keep proving it 0:13:07.320 --> 0:13:07.840 to them. 0:13:07.960 --> 0:13:09.560 My brother, that. 0:13:09.640 --> 0:13:13.160 Right there is what keeps me up at night. Right 0:13:13.240 --> 0:13:16.800 Like you just gave me chills asking that question, because 0:13:18.200 --> 0:13:21.280 we have to change the class of people who are 0:13:21.320 --> 0:13:25.880 running for office, because you have the disenfranchised folks, and 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:28.480 there are so many different categories of disenfranchised folks who 0:13:28.720 --> 0:13:31.439 live below the socio economic belt, right, folks like us 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:33.600 black from the black community. Right, you got folks in 0:13:33.600 --> 0:13:36.560 the LGBT community community. When you feel forgotten and left 0:13:36.559 --> 0:13:39.120 behind by your government because of the elected officials, you 0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:42.880 have no desire to participate, in no willingness to participate. 0:13:43.080 --> 0:13:44.640 So we have to flip that on its head. And 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:47.360 I'll just give you a very practical example. I've run 0:13:47.400 --> 0:13:50.120 for office twice. I've run for office, and I've had 0:13:50.240 --> 0:13:53.160 over a million people cast their votes and elections for me, 0:13:53.760 --> 0:13:56.240 and both of my elections when you combine the vote 0:13:56.320 --> 0:13:59.160 vote totals together is less than thirty five hundred votes. 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:03.240 And the reason being is because I personally believe we 0:14:03.360 --> 0:14:06.920 expanded the electorate. I ran for the county supervisors, which 0:14:06.920 --> 0:14:09.360 is like a county commissioner Americopa County, for a district 0:14:09.400 --> 0:14:11.640 that had over a million people. The vote was decided 0:14:11.679 --> 0:14:14.120 fifteen days after the election by four hundred and three votes. 0:14:14.520 --> 0:14:16.960 And I ran in a district where as a Democrat, 0:14:17.040 --> 0:14:19.480 where Trump carried the district by eight points to the 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:22.200 election before. This was not a democratic district. And then 0:14:22.240 --> 0:14:24.840 I just ran for the United States Congress in a 0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:28.520 district where you had a twelve year Republican incumbent and 0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:31.680 my race was decided by zero point seven percent or 0:14:31.720 --> 0:14:35.920 three thousand votes, eight ten days after the election. The 0:14:36.000 --> 0:14:39.440 reason why I highlight that is because when you can 0:14:39.480 --> 0:14:43.960 flip the status quo on its head, the results will always. 0:14:43.520 --> 0:14:46.440 Be in your favor. And we do differently, and I 0:14:46.440 --> 0:14:49.760 always say we is that we weren't campaigning. Never once 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:52.920 did I campaign for offense. It was about building of 0:14:53.080 --> 0:14:57.640 movement to strengthen our democracy. And when you can inspire 0:14:57.680 --> 0:15:00.600 people to believe that never believe that their governm or 0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:05.080 their democracy was for them, that changes the complete composition 0:15:05.720 --> 0:15:08.160 of the system. And what's going to have to happen 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:11.600 in order to change the makeup of the you know. 0:15:12.360 --> 0:15:14.440 I mean, look, let me tell you one of my 0:15:14.440 --> 0:15:17.640 favorite quotes. If you want to change the laws, you 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:20.280 got to change the law makers. And the only way 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:22.440 to change the law makers is to make. 0:15:22.320 --> 0:15:24.840 Sure that you have people who are reflective of the 0:15:24.840 --> 0:15:26.600 community participating in their election. 0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:28.800 You got to change the voters. And I want to 0:15:28.840 --> 0:15:30.560 jump in right here because I think that this is 0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:33.680 exactly what we're seeing for those folks who might be 0:15:35.880 --> 0:15:39.800 disengaged in the political process. If I had to guess 0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:43.280 the best way to see what it could look like 0:15:43.520 --> 0:15:47.720 if everybody, not just you, I know, as individuals. Everybody's 0:15:47.760 --> 0:15:50.320 focused on money. I'm not mad at you. We all 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:54.240 are focused on money. But this is a long road 0:15:54.280 --> 0:15:56.640 that we have to walk, and money's at the end 0:15:56.640 --> 0:15:58.000 of it. We got a lot of stuff to get 0:15:58.040 --> 0:16:00.120 through before we get there. And this is my belief. 0:16:00.520 --> 0:16:02.880 So if we want to have an idea of how 0:16:02.920 --> 0:16:06.960 it could look, we can just look at the way 0:16:07.440 --> 0:16:13.240 conservatives move, and in particular we're talking about you know, Tennessee. 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:19.520 Those representatives were elected, all those Republican representatives were elected, 0:16:20.000 --> 0:16:22.360 and as soon as they had an opportunity, as soon 0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:23.920 as they had the smallest little bit of dirt. You 0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:25.400 know what the funniest thing is that we you know, 0:16:25.400 --> 0:16:27.760 we're all black men in here. We always say how 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:31.920 we have to be twice as good to be Yeah, exactly, 0:16:32.160 --> 0:16:36.560 twice as good to go half as far. So this 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:39.920 is a perfect example of that. You know, they didn't 0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:43.360 mess up. But you know, as soon as the conservative 0:16:43.400 --> 0:16:47.840 majority they're found in angle, they didn't censor. 0:16:47.520 --> 0:16:50.480 Them, did them. They exactly they did the job that 0:16:50.480 --> 0:16:53.200 they were elected to do exactly. These people probably campaign 0:16:53.280 --> 0:16:55.480 on these principles exactly. And I want to just highlight 0:16:55.600 --> 0:16:57.440 to exactly what you just said. I want to bring 0:16:57.480 --> 0:16:59.760 this back to your point, Q. When you can make 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:03.120 people feel something and you can inspire them to believe 0:17:03.160 --> 0:17:06.760 in something greater than them, that's how we strengthen the system. 0:17:06.840 --> 0:17:09.639 That's how we you know, it's not just asking people 0:17:09.680 --> 0:17:12.560 to vote, right, it's asking the question of how can 0:17:12.600 --> 0:17:14.679 I be a part of your life? How can we 0:17:14.720 --> 0:17:16.280 make your life better? And it's not just going to 0:17:16.320 --> 0:17:18.560 go talk to them in October before the November election. 0:17:18.960 --> 0:17:22.040 It's talking to them in December before the election in 0:17:22.080 --> 0:17:24.119 two years, right, It's making sure that we have this 0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:26.880 continuous conversation and I just want to give you an 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:29.960 example that's very fresh in all of our minds, right 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:31.919 and one that we probably won't forget. And I know 0:17:31.960 --> 0:17:33.320 you got I know, y'all got a lot of listeners 0:17:33.359 --> 0:17:36.159 out there that's much younger than us, so they may 0:17:36.200 --> 0:17:38.520 not remember what the country felt like in O eight. 0:17:38.880 --> 0:17:43.359 But President Obama inspired you to believe, hope, change, right, 0:17:43.480 --> 0:17:45.639 inspired you to believe in something that never you know, 0:17:45.680 --> 0:17:48.720 we can never imagine existing. If y'all remember, y'all remember 0:17:48.760 --> 0:17:51.200 how it felt in O eight in twenty ten, where 0:17:51.240 --> 0:17:56.400 people were inspired to participate, Well, the same phenomenon happened 0:17:56.640 --> 0:18:01.439 in twenty sixteen, it just wasn't to us. President Trump 0:18:01.720 --> 0:18:04.400 inspired a group of people who felt forgotten and left 0:18:04.400 --> 0:18:08.440 behind by the previous administration. And that's how he got elected, right, 0:18:08.480 --> 0:18:10.680 He got inspired a group of people who felt forgotten 0:18:10.680 --> 0:18:14.840 and left behind. So two very good examples on different 0:18:14.840 --> 0:18:18.040 sides of the ideological spectrum. But what they did is 0:18:18.080 --> 0:18:21.359 the same exact thing, right. Well, one campaign was filled 0:18:21.359 --> 0:18:23.560 with lies and bigotry and xenophobia, we're not gonna go 0:18:23.560 --> 0:18:25.920 to you know, we're not gonna go there, racism and 0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:29.600 you know, and all those things. But they essentially attempted 0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:33.280 to inspire a group of people who felt forgotten and 0:18:33.359 --> 0:18:36.240 left behind by their government. Right, and when we can 0:18:36.280 --> 0:18:39.520 do that at the local level, right, that's how we 0:18:39.600 --> 0:18:43.720 build a more transparent, a more efficient government. You know, 0:18:43.760 --> 0:18:46.040 my mother, for example, is a city council woman in 0:18:46.040 --> 0:18:48.720 the city attempte first black woman elected in the city attempe. 0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:51.040 I mean, this woman is living history. But what she 0:18:51.160 --> 0:18:53.440 has done, you know, she's out there. You know, when 0:18:53.560 --> 0:18:55.600 community members are angry at a decision that she made, 0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:57.199 she doesn't run in the back room. She goes and 0:18:57.200 --> 0:18:59.120 puts up a chair and like, if they want to yell, 0:18:59.200 --> 0:19:01.080 and if they want to argue, you know, and it's 0:19:01.119 --> 0:19:03.120 never argument. Let me be clear, If they want to 0:19:03.240 --> 0:19:06.639 voice the frustration, she is there for them to touch 0:19:06.800 --> 0:19:09.800 and allow them to voice the frustration, because that's what 0:19:09.840 --> 0:19:12.040 your elected officials is supposed to do, not run away 0:19:12.040 --> 0:19:14.040 in those tough moments. Are catered to the people that 0:19:14.119 --> 0:19:15.640 are kids in your tail. 0:19:16.480 --> 0:19:20.080 Now, I also want to talk about some other examples 0:19:20.160 --> 0:19:23.199 in local governments, So Q, why don't you take us 0:19:23.280 --> 0:19:24.679 to North Dakota. 0:19:26.480 --> 0:19:29.560 Ramses deals with these issues a lot better than I do, 0:19:30.200 --> 0:19:38.120 because flagrant hypocrisy, flagrant flagrant bigotry, flagrant racism. They hit 0:19:38.160 --> 0:19:40.960 me a little different. I think a lot of our 0:19:41.320 --> 0:19:46.640 colleagues and constituents have determined that flagrant and direct racism, bigotry, 0:19:46.920 --> 0:19:51.040 and hypocrisy is kind of intellectually beneath them to emote about. 0:19:51.080 --> 0:19:52.320 And it drives me. 0:19:52.320 --> 0:19:54.399 Insane, because you care about people. 0:19:54.400 --> 0:19:54.680 Brother. 0:19:55.080 --> 0:19:58.680 The Bismar Tribune is where this story comes from. Ten 0:19:58.800 --> 0:20:03.240 days after narrowly defeating a bill to provide free school 0:20:03.320 --> 0:20:08.399 lunches to low income K through twelve students, this is 0:20:08.440 --> 0:20:11.520 even and I laugh because of how frustrating this is 0:20:11.560 --> 0:20:16.600 to read. The North Dakota Senate approved legislation to increase 0:20:16.640 --> 0:20:19.800 the amount of money lawmakers and other state employees received 0:20:19.840 --> 0:20:21.800 in the meal reimbursements. I'm going to read that again 0:20:21.880 --> 0:20:27.679 because it's really that unbelievable. Ten days after defeating a 0:20:27.720 --> 0:20:32.080 bill to provide school lunches free school lunches to children, 0:20:32.920 --> 0:20:37.960 that same body went on to approve legislation to increase 0:20:38.000 --> 0:20:42.080 the amount of money they get them and their colleagues 0:20:43.440 --> 0:20:49.119 for meal reimbursement. Let's take money from our children while 0:20:49.160 --> 0:20:53.480 approving legislation legislation. I'm sorry to give ourselves more money 0:20:54.200 --> 0:20:55.080 or the same thing. 0:20:57.240 --> 0:20:59.000 It's a wild world we live in. 0:20:59.080 --> 0:21:02.119 But I think that these are duly elected officials, by 0:21:02.160 --> 0:21:02.680 the way. 0:21:02.480 --> 0:21:08.560 But again, this is an incredible example of exactly how 0:21:08.640 --> 0:21:12.960 far your vote in local elections can go. The temperament, 0:21:13.000 --> 0:21:17.120 the values of these people, you know, for those even 0:21:17.240 --> 0:21:20.640 even Republicans. There's a quote from the Bible. I think 0:21:20.640 --> 0:21:23.359 it came from Jesus and it's like the poor you 0:21:23.400 --> 0:21:25.520 will have with you always or something like that. 0:21:25.600 --> 0:21:30.400 Right, that bill approved by Republican law matris as if 0:21:30.440 --> 0:21:33.040 I needed to say that, So. 0:21:34.160 --> 0:21:39.280